


Convalescence

by KomaruNaegi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: A brief appearance from Kaede Akamatsu that was not long enough to deserve a character tag, Dialogue Heavy, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Spoilers, V3 Chapter 1 Spoilers, tiredness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 05:26:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17718920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KomaruNaegi/pseuds/KomaruNaegi
Summary: convalescence -noun- time spent recovering from an illness or medical treatment; recuperation.





	Convalescence

**Author's Note:**

> A fic for my friend Ed.
> 
> I was thinking of doing fic commissions, so this was a freebie I wrote to see if I would be able to. Ed's a good friend so she put up with a long wait, but I hope that, should I decide to do this in the future, I'll be able to produce something faster.
> 
> Enjoy the Saiibo.

"Akamatsu-san?"

Saihara slowly enters the music room, cautious as he makes his way through the clutter. It’s dark, save for the moonlight that gives the room a white glow, the pianist sitting at her grand piano, back turned.

"Akamatsu-san? Hello?"

No response.

Turning his head, Saihara observes that no one is around, and he switches his step from a tip-toe to a normal one. He circles the piano, noting Kaede’s figure.

“W-Wh-“

She’s motionless, not even breathing. Her neck has a large gash, the rest of her body covered in bruises. Bits of her are red, dark from injury, while other parts are ghastly pale.

"A-A-Aka-"

Saihara scampers to the back of the room as Akamatsu’s body lurches forward, limp as it lays on the piano. She turns her face towards him, her eyes a glossy purple, nothing like the ones he remembers.

" _It’s your turn, Saihara-kun."_

* * *

Saihara lurches from his bed, a scream caught in his throat. A nightmare. Just a nightmare.

He lets out a sigh, the memory of Akamatsu’s execution coming back in full force. He grits his teeth. He knows she’s done something horrible, but God, to see her face like that, her body pressed and scratched and _tortured-_

Saihara pulls off the covers in one fell swoop, even though all he wants is to stay in bed. He shivers as he makes his way to the bathroom, his hands clammy as he opens the door. He splashes his face with cold water, taking a second to observe just how awful he looks. His dark circles are even more prominent than his eyelashes now, and that’s saying a lot.

Blowing his nose, Saihara stumbles out of the bathroom. He yawns, clearly tired. His body begs for sleep, but fear keeps him awake.

_Clank, clank._

Are those... footsteps?

Turning around, Saihara leans against the door of his room in an attempt to listen in on whoever’s outside. There’s a few more footsteps, slow and cautious, yet notably louder than the sound of someone walking with socks on. Notably more... _metallic_.

Slowly, as if fearing he’d get caught, Saihara unlocks his door, peeking out into the dormitory. It's Kiibo - the shadow gives him away even in the darkness. Kiibo pauses, as if caught red-handed, and he stands, motionless.

"Kiibo-kun?"

"Saihara-kun?" Kiibo says, slowly and softly, as he turns his head over his shoulder. After seeing that it’s him, he turns himself around completely, trying his best to remain quiet. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

"Ah, well...” Saihara murmurs, scratching his back nervously, “I should, but... I can’t."

"That happens to the professor sometimes,” Kiibo replies, his index finger at his chin. “I always try to offer a bedtime story, or a glass of water, but he tends to decline. He tells me that he doesn’t want to be ‘bothersome,’ but he gets so little sleep anyways..."

Saihara can understand not wanting to be a bother: it’s an anxiety that’s plagued him for most of his life. "What brings you out here?"

"I charge more quickly here than I do back at home," Kiibo explains. "Here, it only takes me about four hours to get from low battery to a full charge. But at home, it would take me around eight."

"Oh, wow," Saihara says.

"Yes, it’s quite the improvement. However, I usually charge myself when the professor is sleeping, so that way I can wake up at the same time as him. Now that everyone is sleeping, I don’t have anything to do..." Kiibo says, pausing. "Though I want to trust all of you, I fear that leaving myself in sleep mode would leave me vulnerable..."

"I get that,” Saihara replies, “it’s scary here."

With that, there’s a lull in the conversation. Kiibo appears to be deep in thought, his eyes intently pointed towards the ground. “What’s keeping you awake?”

"Nightmares."

Kiibo hums faintly, as if agreeing with the statement. "The professor also has those on occasion, though they’re few and far between. He tends to sleep through them for the whole night, and then tells me what had happened when he wakes up."

Part of Saihara wishes he was one of those people. Another part of him doesn’t.

"I’ve always been a light sleeper, but... I don’t think I’ve had a full night of sleep since I’ve gotten here."

"Perhaps I can assist you?"

"Ah, it’s alright, I’m fine," Saihara says, his voice hoarse as a yawn makes his way up his throat. He covers his mouth to hide himself even though his tiredness is obvious.

"No, please, allow me. I know this may be selfish, but... it will give the both of us something to do."

"I’m not sure I get-"

Saihara’s cut off by the soft whirring of fans, activating like those of a computer when high-power applications are run. "Please wait a moment. This should take about a minute."

Should he ignore him? Should he go back to his room and forget this ever happened? What’s he doing, anyway? It doesn’t seem to be a malfunction, since he shows signs of controlling it...

"Hold still, please."

Saihara does so, perplexed as Kiibo steps closer towards him. Once he’s at an awkwardly close distance (enough to make Saihara blush), he spreads his arms wide, and then clamps them around Saihara’s shivering form.

He’s warm. It’s like he’s holding onto a heater.

"Are you alright?" Kiibo says, putting his head on Saihara’s shoulder. "I’m not too warm, am I?"

"No, this is fine. Are you sure this isn’t weird for you?"

"Well, to be frank..." Kiibo starts, "I’ve never done this before. I just thought that I could perhaps use my heating function to help you, but if I’m causing you trouble, then-"

Perhaps it’s the tiredness. Perhaps it’s the fact that he’s stopped caring. Maybe it’s both. But something compels Saihara to reciprocate the hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Kiibo’s warm, metallic body.

"S-Saihara-kun?"

Saihara giggles. "Is this alright? I'm not too warm, am I?"

"N-No, it’s just, I hadn’t expected you to-"

"Shh. People are sleeping."

"Oh, right..."

Saihara teeters on his feet, lightly swinging Kiibo back and forth as he crooks his chin into his shoulder. Kiibo follows, indulging Saihara in his sleep-deprived dance, before stopping for a minute.

"Um, Saihara-kun... Could we..."

"Mm?" Saihara murmurs, opening his eyes and glancing back at the wall.

"Could we stay here for a few more minutes?"

"Sure, Kiibo," Saihara replies, letting his eyes close. "Whatever you want."

**Author's Note:**

> I guess we really are doing this "kay-one-bee-zero" shit in the tags, huh.  
> Also I totally forgot the honoriffic at the end but I feel like by that point Saihara would be too tired to care. So I’ll leave it as it is.


End file.
